by Nick Taylor
DUNE: PART TWO leads with 16 nominations, though CHALLENGERS is swaggering right behind it into that sauna with 15
As some of you may remember from last year, guest contributor Patrick Gratton has been spearheading a group known as the Gold Diggers Awards since 2018. Comprised of critics, cinephiles, festival circuit regulars and trusted besties around the globe, the organization is once again back with their Mid-Year Awards slate. As is tradition, these nominations are solely cultivated from films that received a US release in the first half of 2024. Also in keeping with tradition, these lineups are an eccentric mix of mainstream, arthouse, underground, and international cinema. Where else will you see Dune: Part Two duke it out with the likes of The People's Joker for Best Effects, or held up against Lea Seydoux's other sci-fi thrill The Beast? I love these nominations, and not just cuz I'm a member.
For the best of the best in 24 categories, follow me below the cut . . . .
BEST FEATURE FILM
- THE BEAST, Janus Films/Sideshow
- CHALLENGERS, MGM/United Artists
- DO NOT EXPECT TOO MUCH FROM THE END OF THE WORLD, MUBI
- DUNE: PART TWO, Warner Bros.
- EVIL DOES NOT EXIST, Janus Films/Sideshow
- FURIOSA: A MAD MAX SAGA, Warner Bros
- HIT MAN, Netflix
- I SAW THE TV GLOW, A24
- KINDS OF KINDNESS, Searchlight Pictures
- LOVE LIES BLEEDING, A24
A24 received the most nominations of any studio with twenty-eight citations, nine of which went to I SAW THE TV GLOW
BEST DIRECTOR
- Bertrand Bonello, THE BEAST
- Rose Glass, LOVE LIES BLEEDING
- Luca Guadagnino, CHALLENGERS
- Jane Schoebrun, I SAW THE TV GLOW
- Denis Villeneuve, DUNE: PART TWO
BEST FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
- DO NOT EXPECT TOO MUCH FROM THE END OF THE WORLD, Romania, Luxembourg, France, and Croatia
- EVIL DOES NOT EXIST, Japan
- HOUSEKEEPING FOR BEGINNERS, North Macedonia, Poland, Croatia, Serbia, and Kosovo
- LAST SUMMER, France and Norway
- SAMSARA, Spain
BEST ANIMATED FILM
- INSIDE OUT 2, Mark Nielsen
- KUNG FU PANDA 4, Rebecca Huntley
- MARS EXPRESS, Marc Jousset & Guillaume Natas & Florent Steiner
BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM
- BYE BYE TIBERIAS – Jean-Marie Nizan
- GIRLS STATE – Amanda McBaine & Jesse Moss
- I AM: CELINE DION – Julie Begey Seureau & Stacy Lorts & Tom Mackay & Irene Taylor
- PICTURES OF GHOSTS – Emilie Lesclaux
- RYUICHI SAKAMOTO | OPUS – Aiko Masubichi & Takashi Numa & Eric Nyari & Norika Sky-Sora & Albert Tholen
BEST DIRECTORIAL DEBUT
- THE FIRST OMEN, Arkasha Stevensen
- JANET PLANET, Annie Baker
- MONKEY MAN, Dev Patel
- THE PEOPLE’S JOKER, Vera Drew
- PROBLEMISTA, Julio Torres
BEST ENSEMBLE
- CHALLENGERS
- DUNE: PART TWO
- GHOSTLIGHT
- HIT MAN
- KINDS OF KINDNESS
One can only imagine what Bobita would say about the women she's nominated with. Do NOT check her insta
BEST ACTRESS
- Léa Drucker, LAST SUMMER
- Nell Tiger Free, THE FIRST OMEN
- Ilinca Manolache, DO NOT EXPECT TOO MUCH FROM THE END OF THE WORLD
- Léa Seydoux, THE BEAST
- Zendaya, CHALLENGERS
BEST ACTOR
- Keith Kupferer, GHOSTLIGHT
- Josh O’Connor, CHALLENGERS
- Jesse Plemons, KINDS OF KINDNESS
- Glen Powell, HIT MAN
- Justice Smith, I SAW THE TV GLOW
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
- Adria Arjona, HIT MAN
- Rebecca Ferguson, DUNE: PART TWO
- Katy O’Brian, LOVE LIES BLEEDING
- Sophie Okonedo, JANET PLANET
- Tilda Swinton, PROBLEMISTA
Supporting Actor is the only category with six nominees. And Jesse Plemons is the only performer recognized in Lead and Supporting! Life's fun coincidences
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
- Javier Bardem, DUNE: PART TWO
- Austin Butler, DUNE: PART TWO
- Mike Faist, CHALLENGERS
- Ed Harris, LOVE LIES BLEEDING
- Chris Hemsworth, FURIOSA: A MAD MAX SAGA
- Jesse Plemons, CIVIL WAR
BEST ACTING NEWCOMER
- Pierette Abode, MAMBAR PIERETTE
- Alyla Browne, FURIOSA: A MAD MAX SAGA
- Samuel Kirchner, LAST SUMMER
- Katy O’Brian, LOVE LIES BLEEDING
- Zoe Ziegler, JANET PLANET
BEST CHOREOGRAPHY
- CHALLENGERS, John Vincent Mason, Brad Gilbert & Kim Gilbert, Mam Smith
- DUNE: PART TWO, Joseph Baddelem & Henry King Jr. & Domonkos Pardanyi, Roger Yuan, Vi-Dan Tran, Jenefer Odell, Benjamin Millepied
- THE FALL GUY, Keir Bec, Caroline Kaspar, Jonathan Eusebio & Sunny Sun
- FURIOSA: A MAD MAX SAGA, Guy Norris & Mark Teale & Tim Wong, Yasca Sinigaglia & Jacob Tomuri Karl Van Moorsel, Richard Norton, Caroline Kaspar
- MONKEY MAN, Udeh Nans & Brahim Chab
BEST SCREENPLAY (ORIGINAL AND ADAPTED)
- Bertrand Bonello, THE BEAST
- Jane Shoenbrun, I SAW THE TV GLOW
- Radu Jude, DO NOT EXPECT TOO MUCH FROM THE END OF THE WORLD
- Justin Kuritzkes, CHALLENGERS
- Julio Torres, PROBLEMISTA
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
- Josée Deshaies, THE BEAST
- Đinh Duy Hung, INSIDE THE YELLOW COCOON SHELL
- Greig Fraser, DUNE: PART TWO
- Sayombhu Mukdeeprom, CHALLENGERS
- Eric Yue, I SAW THE TV GLOW
BEST EDITING
- Marco Costa, CHALLENGERS
- Catalin Cristutiu, DO NOT EXPECT TOO MUCH FROM THE END OF THE WORLD
- Vera Drew, THE PEOPLE’S JOKER
- Sofi Marshall, I SAW THE TV GLOW
- Joe Walker, DUNE: PART TWO
Between PROBLEMISTA and I SAW THE TV GLOW, 2024 is already a landmark year for Egg Cinema
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
- THE BEAST, Katia Wyszkop, Sophie Martel & Florence Allerie
- DUNE: PART TWO, Patrice Vermette, Zsuzsanna Sipos & Shane Vieau
- FURIOSA: A MAD MAX SAGA, Colin Gibson and Katie Sharrock
- I SAW THE TV GLOW, Brandon Tonner-Connolly and Paige Mitchell
- PROBLEMISTA, Katie Byron and Kendall Anderson
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
- Jenny Beavan, FURIOSA: A MAD MAX SAGA
- Pauline Jacquard, THE BEAST
- Megan McLaughlin, LISA FRANKENSTEIN
- Michael O’Connor, FIREBRAND
- Jacqueline West, DUNE: PART TWO
BEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING
- THE BEAST, Maïna Militza and Miguel Santos
- DUNE: PART TWO, Love Larson & Eva Von Bahir, Megan Norris, Ruth Haney, and Kata Huszár
- FURIOSA: A MAD MAX SAGA, Matteo Silvi & Luca Vannella, Larry Van Duynhoven, and Lesley Vanderwalt
- LOVE LIES BLEEDING, Megan Daum, Bryan Perkal, and Frieda Valenzuela
- THE PEOPLE’S JOKER, Jake Bennett and Lane Friedmann
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
- CHALLENGERS, Dan Crayer & Brian Drewes & Marco Geracinato & Don Libby & Riaz Patel, John Ruggiere
- DUNE: PART TWO, Arnaud Brisebois & Michael Grobe & Stephen James & Rhys Salcombe, Franco Galiano & Gerd Nefzer
- FURIOSA: A MAD MAX SAGA, Xavier Matia Bernasconi & Dan Bethell & Andrew Jackson & Stephen James & Giacomo Mineo & Jo Plaete Josh Simmonds & Guido Wolter, Lloyd Finnemore & Andy Williams, Jabin Dickens
- KINGDOM OF THE PLANET OF THE APES, Art Bagdasaryan & Mark Gee & Sean Noel Walker & Erik Winquist, Rodney Burke
- THE PEOPLE’S JOKER, Jake Myers and Jasperi Wirtanen
CHALLENGERS is the only film nominated in all four sound categories. Unrelated, but look at this screen grab
BEST SOUND MIXING
- CHALLENGERS, Craig Berkey & Paul Carter
- CIVIL WAR, Howard Bargroff & Adam Scrivener & Mark Timms
- DUNE: PART TWO, Doug Hemphill
- FURIOSA: A MAD MAX SAGA, James Ashton & Tom Holkenborg & Robert Mackenzie & Jessica Meier
- I SAW THE TV GLOW, Daniel Timmons
BEST SOUND EDITING
- CHALLENGERS, Craig Berkey
- CIVIL WAR, Glenn Freemantle
- DUNE: PART TWO, Richard King
- FURIOSA: A MAD MAX SAGA, Tom Heuzenroeder & Tara Webb
- LOVE LIES BLEEDING, Paul Davies
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
- Anna Bonello & Bertrand Bonello, THE BEAST
- Alex G, I SAW THE TV GLOW
- Eiko Ishibashi, EVIL DOES NOT EXIST
- Hans Zimmer, DUNE: PART TWO
- Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross, CHALLENGERS
BEST USE OF MUSIC
- CHALLENGERS, Robin Urdang
- THE FALL GUY, Rachel Levy
- I SAW THE TV GLOW, Jessica Berndt, Chris Swanson, Haley Dahl, Caroline Polachek, A.G. Cook, and Emily Spraque
- LOVE LIES BLEEDING, Simon Astall
- THE PEOPLE’S JOKER, Vera Drew, Elias Gowins, Justin Krol, Quinn Scharber, and Jeff Shirley
For more mid-year awards adventures, check out Cláudio's Fifties Ballot, and share your thoughts about the Gold Digger's nominees! Winners will be announced in the coming weeks.